A Hero
by Liberty Hoffman
Summary: when a little girl goes missing, Shawn and Gus are the only ones who can find her. some slight Shawn whump!
1. Oh Maddie, where art thou?

RING! RING!  
I reached for the Psych office phone and glanced at the caller ID. "Hello, Chief!" I said cheerily. Gus looked up from laptop.  
My eyebrows shot up when I heard what she said.  
"We'll be right there!"  
"What?" Gus asked as he followed me out the door.  
"The Chief said that there's something very important that we have to discuss at the station."  
We hopped into the Blueberry and drove to the SBPD as quick ly as possible.  
When we entered the Chief's office, we foundthe Chief at her desk and in the chair before her was a woman clearly beside herself; she had a handful of tissues and was sobbing into them.  
"Mr. Spencer, Mr. Guster, thank you for coming," The Chief said, looking up at us as we entered.  
She gestured to the weeping woman. "This is Carol Nottingham. She came in a few moments ago asking if we could find her missing daughter."  
The Chief addressed the woman. "This is Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster, our resident psychic team. They will be able to help you."  
I knelt beside the chair. "Miss Nottingham - "  
"It's Mrs."  
"Mrs. Nottingham," I began again. "When and where did you last see your daughter?"  
She wiped her nose, sniffed, then said, "My daughter's name is Maddie. She and I were out in the yard this morning. Maddie was playing on the lawn and I was tending to the garden. I needed a tool and I told Maddie to stay putand I ran to the shed to fetch it. I was only gone for for a moment, but when I returned, Maddie as gone. I looked everywhere for her."  
Carol began crying again. "I never should have left her alone!" I put my hand on her arm. "Don't worry, Mrs. Nottingham. We'll find your daughter. I promise."

**- 10 minutes later -**

"Huh. No signs of struggle. Not even sneaker treads." I stared gloomily at the Nottingham's front lawn.  
Gus looked up. "Maybe whoever took her lifted her off the ground."  
I raised an eyebrow. "How do we know she was kidnapped?"  
"How elese did she dissapear so fast?"  
Just then, something caught my eye - crumbs, scattered here and there on the path leading out of the front gate. I turned to Carol who was watching us hopefully. "Was your daughter eating something here? A cookie, maybe?"  
Carol raised ehr eyebrows. "Yes, she had a muffin. Why?"  
I raised my finger to my temple.  
"I'm sensing that there are crumbs from that muffin that will lead us to your daughter."  
As we turned to leave the gate, I whispered to Gus: "It's just like Hansel and Gretel!"  
Gus glared at me. "I hope not. That would mean that there's an evil witch waiting to cook us when we solve this."

-  
Will Shawn and Gus find Maddie? find out in the next chapter, coming soon!


	2. Saving Maddie

We exited the yard and I kept a finger to my head and an eye on the ground, tracking the crumbs. The crumb trail ended much too too, but when I looked up, I saw that we were about to walk down a wooded path. Without a word, I raced raced down the path, feeling a sudden urgency. A few seconds later, the path opened out into a clearing by a lake. I could only stare at the sight that met my eyes: A large dog was at the base of a tree that hung out over the water, growling up into the branches. A girl was hanging onto a branch by her hands and her feet were kicking uselessly.

"Maddie!" Carol screamed.

The cry startled the girl and she lost her grip on the branch and fell into the water. Without hesitating, I raced forward, splashing into the water. It was cold even though it was almost June.

"Maddie?!" I yelled, looking around disparately.

She hadn't come up yet. I swam as fast as I could to the spot where the girl had entered the water. Taking a deep breath, I ducked under. Opening my eyes, I groped around, but it was murky and I couldn't see anything. My lungs were out of air and I surfaced quickly, gasped a breath, and dove under again. Still nothing.

I fought off the panic that was rising in me and groped deeper, trying in vain to see through the silt. My lungs were bursting and I was just about to swim back up when my hand brushed against something soft. A shirt. Then I saw Maddie, her arms above her head, a few bubbles drifting through her slightly parted lips. I got my arm around her and kicked with all my might, trying to find the surface, but I was down farther than I thought. I needed air so badly...

I suddenly wasn't sure which way was up. I officially began to panic, groping above my head with my free arm. through my darkening vision, I could just make out a flicker of light. The surface. I was determined not to die. And I couldn't let Maddie die. I kicked with all of my might and Pulled up with my arm.  
My head broke the surface and I tipped on my back, taking in the sweetest breath I can remember. Maddie's head fell heavily on my shoulder and for a moment I was afraid she wasn't breathing. But then I heard a weak cough. I was still disoriented and the water streaming into my eyes was temporarily blinding me. I blinked hard and felt fresh panic when I didn't see the shore.

"Shawn!"

The shout came from behind me. Gus. I tightened my grip on Maddie, who was limp but still breathing, and began to backstroke wearily with my free arm. I could hear voices behind me, shouting encouragement. My feet finally hit bottom and I stumbled, my legs wobbily. Someone suddenly right there, taking Maddie from my aching arms. I coughed as water filled my mouth.

"Shawn!"

Gus was right there, putting an arm around my waist, holding me up. He guided me to the bank where I collapsed, coughing.

"Hey, you alright?" Gus helped me sit up.

My head began to clear and I looked up to see Carol cradling Maddie.

"Gus...I don't know what happened," I gasped. "I couldn't find...I almost..."

Gus was visibly shaken. "I was so scared, Shawn. I thought you'd drowned."

"Shawn!"

I looked up and saw Juliet and Lassie running toward us. But then Carol was suddenly right in front of me and she hugged me tightly, crying. "How can I ever thank you?" She sobbed. And then she was gone and Gus and Juliet helped me to my feet.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Gus asked.

I blinked. 'Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."

Gus looked relieved. "Let's get you home."

-  
THE END I hope that ending wasn't too chopped off *ducks flying tomatoes*


End file.
